Art 21 guest blogger, Daniel Quiles, interviews Nato Thompson about his recent exhibition and catalog Experimental Geography. The show will be on view at the Rochester Art Center from February 7 to April 18.

via Art 21:
“DQ: A number of the artists and collectives involved in the show trace their roots back to Chicago, in particular the School of the Art Institute of Chicago,and some of whom were featured in the recent group exhibition you curated at the Armory, Democracy in America. How would you say the Chicago milieu conditioned the formation of some of the practices outlined in Experimental Geography?

NT: Well I will admit I went to graduate school at SAIC and also remain an avid admirer of the non-object-based collectivist practices that have been maturing in Chicago for over a decade. Artist and activist Daniel Tucker started a phenomenal journal titled AREA, which looks at urban space in Chicago from a variety of lenses including art but also those of race, gender, policy, minority histories, and on and on. This magazine has allowed numerous communities to come together under the specific frame of the city they live in. Itâ€™s a compelling umbrella that has many associations with Henri Lefebvreâ€™s approach to geography in the 1950s.”

“It was unseasonably chilly in the basement of Christopher Peters and Shane Gabierâ€™s Humboldt Park two-flatâ€”or maybe it just seemed that way, since they were unpacking clothes and accessories from the 2009 spring/summer collection of their line, Creatures of the Wind. Some of them looked a little worse for wearâ€”straw hats smooshed, fringe tangledâ€”but the men were nonplussed. The items had just come back from a New York photo shoot for W magazine, the monthly Conde Nast fashion glossy, which has slated a profile of the designers for March. Thatâ€™s considerable editorial coverage for a brand thatâ€™s less than a year old.”

Next Saturday Deb Sokolow will be teaching a class on book making at the MCA.
Saturday, February 7, 2009, 1-4 pm
MCA members $40, nonmembers $45

“Interested in the world of artists’ books? Join former UBS 12×12 artist Deb Sokolow as she guides you through simple book making techniques to create your own accordion fold book. Sokolow’s elaborate drawings and artists’ books investigate human behavior through complex and comical narrative and provide perfect material for further exploring artist books.”

As we all know, times are tough. But what one university has decided to do in order to close it’s budget deficit is utterly unbelievable. On Monday Brandeis University announced that they would not only be closing their Rose Art Museum but that they would also be hawking its collection in order to make up for a low budget.

â€œThese are extraordinary times,â€ Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz said in a press release. â€œWe cannot control or fix the nationâ€™s economic problems. We can only do what we have been entrusted to do â€”act responsibly with the best interests of our students and their futures foremost in mind.â€

“One thing that is not coming out — clearly — is this: Some of these really well-meaning young alums are doing the Obama routine of having people send small amounts of money. As darling as that is, it’s misguided. The Rose is not in financial trouble. We’re secure. I can’t say that strongly enough. We’re meeting our fundraising goals. We’re doing fine. We have a tight managerial structure. We’re utterly responsible. There’s no trouble for the Rose.”

The Boston Globe reported today that, “Jehuda Reinharz, Brandeis University president, yesterday opened the possibility that the university would not sell its $350 million art collection but said he would not change his mind about closing Rose Art Museum and turning it into a study and research center.”